AFTER many years on rugby league fields, Sione Finefeuiaki knows a thing or two about teamwork.
On Wednesday morning, in a usually quiet street in a Cardiff light industrial estate, the former NRL player was using both his organisational skills and his massive prop forward frame to carry items, as a team of volunteers packed a container bound for Sione Finefeuiaki's homeland of Tonga.
"We'll fill this one by 11, 11.30am, then we'll be bringing in another container," Mr Finefeuiaki said.
The street was lined with the generosity of a region responding to the needs of a Pacific neighbour ravaged by a tsunami in January.
Crates of food and water, household products, furniture and bedding, including a cot, were among the donated goods being loaded into the 12-metre long container.
Rolls of outdoor fabric were waiting to be loaded. Rutherford business Wax Converters Textiles Australia had donated about 30,000 square metres of fabric, comprising about 300 rolls. That material would be used to provide ground cover and makeshift shelters, Mr Finefeuiaki explained, as many Tongans had lost their homes in the tsunami.
He had learnt of these hardships from his own family in Tonga, who had been affected by the disaster. And that only deepened Sione Finefeuiaki's gratitude for the donations.
"The generosity of people has been amazing," said the man who began Sione's Foundation in 2017 to organise aid programs for Tonga. "I can't thank them enough."
It's not just goods that have been donated. As word spread of the tsunami's impact, donations piled up, and they had to be stored somewhere. Reece Plumbing offered storage space, and so did the charity Survivor's R Us. Part of the organisation's warehouse at Cardiff was converted into a hub for the Tongan relief effort.
"All these people going without, it just breaks your heart," said the charity's founder and public officer, Ann-Maria Martin. "It's wonderful to know that we're helping these beautiful people to get their lives back together."
From Sione Finefeuiaki's footy background came help as well. Among the team of carriers and packers was Mal Graham, who had coached Mr Finefeuiaki in Newcastle representative and country NSW sides.
"He's got a beautiful, gentle nature, and he's a great teammate," said Mr Graham of his former player. "He showed he was a natural leader by an early age, and that's coming through now."
Also lending a hand was Newcastle Pasifika rugby coach Carl Manu and Phil Bradford, who plays hooker for the Hunter Wildfires. The two teams played in a charity match in February for the Tongan relief effort.
Newcastle Pasifika and the Hunter Wildfires may be fierce competitors on the field, but the two men from the opposing teams worked as one in the container.
"It's the only time!," joked Mr Manu.
Phil Bradford, who is Samoan, said he was pleased to help the Tongan people, as they had assisted his nation after natural disasters in the past.
Sione Finefeuiaki said the packed containers were due to be shipped from Australia on April 18 and should arrive in Tonga in early May. He planned for more containers to be sent later in the year.
